I don't think it's a big deal until it breaks. I check mine every oil change and look for stress marks. I just had the car in for an alignment and it checked out ok. I'm a little more careful on cornering as the lower r rods attach very close at the point of corrosion. I will feel allot better when it's changed out. Doesn’t look to be a bad job. Maybe 8 hours or so. I think I am going to route the water from the ac with an extended hose under the car. Anyone with a low mileage accord should reroute the hose to prevent corrosion. I think it will rust from the inside out and will not be noticed until it gets really bad.

 

My 99 Accord Sedan needed to have part of the undercarriage replaced because it was badly rusted. I was hearing a noise as I drove and when inspected, was told the potential was there for the engine to "fall out" when I went over a bump. It lives and rides in Ohio where it is exposed to salt every winter.

 

I have a 1998 LX 4 Cyl 4 door same problem the sub frame is rotted out right above or where the sway bar attaches. Does anyone have a blown up schematic of the area? Thanks in advanced for the help...

 

Really suggest a good manual for this. A diagram is not going to give all of the details needed to replace this. The is an on line seller (automanualsource) that many have used, a cd is like $27, a download is $22, where you can get a very nice service manual that will have the steps, torque, ect......

 

The online Honda parts dealers have fair pics. This one's from sonshonda(dot)com:

 

I think if my sub frame was rotted I would just part the car out.

Sound like the car has had too much salt exposure and most likely other things such as fuel lines and misc nuts and bolts are most likely rotting as well.

 

I worked on the design, prototype building, finished product, and the design of the manufacturing production line of the 98 Model five link-arm rear chassis in Japan. It is basically a Formula One design fitted into a passenger car, and to this day still in my opinion the best design ever. I was also involved in the 2003, 2008, and 2013 designs. The paint is electroplated (ED) type with an inner spray applied after it was removed from the paint line. The 98 model was the first chassis to utilize Galvanized steel that goes through a second process of oven annealing that draws iron out of the steel mixing it with the zinc creating a Zinc & Iron alloy. This is known as Galvannealed Steel. The Iron/Zinc coating makes the steel more weldable than pure galvanized steel thank God. (I am a weld engineer lol) This was done to prevent rust, and it made significant improvements to the life of the steel. It also went through pretreatment in the paint process. There is absolutely nothing other than age that would have caused your chassis (Subframe) to rust and fail. What you have in the auto industry is a 12 year paint life, and your car as of 2023 is at least 23 years old. It doesn't mean your car will rust out in 12 years, it means at 12 years the process of the car ending up in the junk yard begins. What part of the country the car was driven in and the conditions it went through plays a major factor in how many years past the 12 year mark it will survive. As someone that has a personal soft spot in my heart for that car I am sorry to see your car come to the end of its life. You can though replace that subframe, it basically drops out with removal of a few bolts same as a race car. We actually looked at a formula one design before we started. I know replacement subframes are still available, but I would have the front also checked. I worked on that too, and it is also vulnerable at that age.
Dale K.